Western Illinois University (WIU) vs University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC)

Western Illinois University (WIU) and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC) are two public universities located in the Midwestern United States, each offering a unique educational experience. WIU, situated in Macomb, Illinois, has an acceptance rate of 86%, while UWEC, nestled in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, boasts a slightly lower acceptance rate of 79%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at WIU including Business, Education, and Psychology, and popular majors at UWEC including Business, Education, and Biology. WIU's student body is predominantly made up of Illinois residents, while UWEC attracts a more diverse student population from across the country. With graduation rates of 48% and 62% respectively, both institutions are committed to providing students with the necessary support and resources to achieve their academic goals. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that del

	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	Western Illinois University
Overview
Location	Eau Claire, Wisconsin	Macomb, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	78.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	77.5%	72.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $56	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	21 - 26	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score	63.0%
Total number of applicants	9,420	7,156
Total number of admissions given out	7,297	5,187
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,253	920
Yield rate	30.9%	17.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $21,212 Out of state: $29,487	$29,140
Average net price	$15,713	$11,666
Tuition	In state: $7,361 Out of state: $15,636	$9,238
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,170 Meal plan: $3,180	Room/dormitory: $6,240 Meal plan: $3,952
Available payment plans		Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	68.0% Average amount $3,571	94.0% Average amount $13,937
Students receiving federal student loan	50.0% Average amount $4,893	50.0% Average amount $5,417
Students taking out private loans	14.0% Average amount $10,302	5.0% Average amount $9,533

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,869 Men 38.7% Women 61.3%	5,394 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%
Graduate students	700 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	2,061 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	37.8%	9.7%
International students	2.0%	8.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	3,997	3,083
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Wisconsin Minnesota Illinois Iowa Florida	Illinois Iowa Missouri Wisconsin Indiana

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Foreign Languages and Literatures Public Administration and Social Service	Education Business Liberal Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	68.0%	50.9%
Dropout rate	31.0%	16.5%
Transferred out	N/A	31.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $112,967 Year 2: $113,187 Year 3: $117,029 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,679 Year 2: $85,206 Year 3: $85,974 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,957 Year 2: $69,867 Year 3: $79,199 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,259 Year 2: $61,350 Year 3: $67,416 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,481 Year 2: $58,796 Year 3: $66,353 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,517 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $63,910 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,270 Year 2: $54,359 Year 3: $60,286 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,707 Year 2: $53,045 Year 3: $57,099 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,583 Year 2: $45,435 Year 3: $53,917 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,825 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $53,128	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,427 Year 2: $63,166 Year 3: $79,149 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,346 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: $72,457 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,220 Year 2: $60,771 Year 3: $65,823 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $64,904 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,827 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $64,741 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,966 Year 2: $58,334 Year 3: $63,350 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,154 Year 2: $49,729 Year 3: $54,520 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,063 Year 2: $43,612 Year 3: $53,379 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,058 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $52,271 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,853 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $51,827

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